The Barometer Online

Issue date: 2/11/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Luke Wenker Gill Coliseum becomes a construction site as the floor is assembled at center court for a gymnastics meet. Last week workers had to transition between basketball, gymnastics and wrestling in a short period of time.

Fans know about the high-flying dunks from Calvin Haynes and the rain-making 3-pointers from Rickey Claitt on the hardwood.

Supporters have seen Leslie Mak twisting, turning and swinging from the bars in gymnastics and know how much Heinrich Barnes and Keegan Davis love slamming their opponents to the floor on the wrestling mat. What many don't know is how the equipment gets set up for these athletes to compete on.

The Beavers hosted Arizona in men's basketball last Thursday night, with gymnastics hosting Arizona State on Friday, followed by two more Sun Devils teams coming to Gill for basketball Saturday and wrestling on Sunday afternoon. With no set-up being alike two days in a row, Jess Lewis and his team had their work cut out for them.

"We know that we have to work fast," grounds crew member Eric Reisdorf said. "The gymnasts stand around the edges of the court and are on the mats and working out immediately after the set-up is complete."

Jess Lewis is the head of the grounds crew responsible for taking care of the athletic facilities for Beaver athletics. On weekends such as the last, they are forced to work especially hard. Lewis is joined by Reisdorf, Matt Siewell, Al Kirk and Jeff Frost.

The five have been working together for as long as nine years; Lewis has been working the facilities for 19 years. All of this experience is crucial for the unsung heroes of OSU athletics if weekends like these are going to go smoothly. They are also all friends, which helps to keep spirits up on these long days.

These men are forced to work around everyone's schedules but their own.

"Every team has their own schedule that they like to keep to, and they all require their own set-up in the gym," said Lewis.

On Friday morning, they had to wait not only for men's basketball practice to be over, but for the Sun Devils men's basketball team to complete its afternoon shoot-around before they were able to begin setting up for Friday evening's gymnastics meet. They were also informed upon their arrival to Gill that they would be setting up for an executive dinner at Reser Stadium that same evening.

They then had to be at Gill at 6 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday in order to set up for basketball and wrestling.

Each event requires its own set up and modifications to Gill. Lewis and his crew are all required to work very hard and often very odd hours in order for Beaver sports fans to enjoy all of the highlights that the athletes provide. The main attraction at events are the athletes, but it is the action that goes on behind the scenes that make Lewis and the crew the real heroes of Oregon State athletics.

Kevin Nordlund, sports writer

sports@dailybarometer.com

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